Monday, February 11, 2013

Gridiron Solitaire #42: Details and the Devil

Most of the new code has been written for the new offseason functionality. I have one more piece to write tonight, then I'll be able to start debugging.

It's been a bit of a slog, but I know this is the last time I'll go through major revisions to the offseason functionality, which lessens the sting a bit.

Here's how the individual card screen looks (it's not finished, but you can see quite a bit of how it will look):

Yeah, I know: that doesn't look quite right yet. The accountant, who looks great, is mucking up the layout. So I may lower the cards and put him on top. Not sure yet, but I'll do something.

It also looks bland. It doesn't look cohesive yet. I used to freak out when this happened, but now I know that it's just part of a longer process. Some screens come out very well the first time, but most of them (for me, anyway) look awkward at first, and it's only from thinking about it that some kind of proper order emerges. Just looking at the screenshot as I type this, I realized that the "Finalize" button shouldn't be there--it should be on the screen where you select which rating you want to see cards for purchase. And as I stare at that screen some more, it looks to me like seven might be too many cards to show. Five might work a bit better (although the accountant presents some issues if I make the cards larger).

Additional little stuff: when you do hit the finalize button, the cards you purchased will show up on their own screen, and there will be a roll to see if the card "busts" or not. For each card (in sequence--about 2 seconds apart), you'll hear a stamping sound and a stamp will appear--a red "BUST" stamp or a green "APPROVED" stamp.

Also, those cards won't all have identical poses--that's just placeholder art. Fredrik is sending me the final art tonight or tomorrow, and I'll just drop that right in.

As unlikely as it sounds, I'm going to try to have this in the hands of the testers (after adding final art and debugging) by tomorrow night or Wednesday.